UNIVERSITY BULLETIN 

NEW SERIES, vol.. XVII, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER, 1915 

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 

The Subject-Matter and Administration 

of the Six-Three-Three Plan 

of Secondary Schools 



By CALVIN 0. DAVIS 

Associate Professor of Education 




ANN ARBOR 

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY 

19I5 



Wentgrapfc 



UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 



The Subject-Matter and Administration 

of the Six-Three-Three Plan 

of Secondary Schools 



By CALVIN O. DAVIS 

Associate Professor of Education 



\* 




ANN ARBOR 

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY 
I9I5 



THE CONTENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
SIX-THREE-THREE PLAN.^ 

Ever since the time of Socrates and the Sophists some body 
has — or some bodies have — constantly and consciously been seek- 
ing to bring about modifications in the character and work of the 
schools. The age in which we live is in no wise unacquainted 
with persons of like zeal. 

Classified somewhat loosely these reformers may be divided 
into two main groups : one group emphasizing changes in the 
external form or organization of schools ; the other group stress- 
ing the need of modifying the subject-matter, or content of 
study, and the internal administration of school work. While, 
however, there is this difiference in emphasis the real aim of both 
divisions is identical, namely, how to make the schools serve more 
efifectively the increasingly larger number of pupils who are at- 
tending them or who can be led to attend them. 

The Plan in Gr:NrvRAT,. 

Among the suggested reforms which are today here in Amer- 
ica being given much attention is the question of a rather com- 
plete reorganization of the entire school system and the shaping 
of it somewhat closely after the model of the six-six id,eal. The 
purpose, character and alleged advantages of this ideal are more 
or less familiar to all. Briefly stated the plan contemplates the 
abandonment of the present arrangement of a four-year high 
school following an eight-year elementary school and the division 
of the customary twelve grades of the public schools into two 
equal part, — six years being devoted to elementary school work 
and six years to secondars^ school work. 



\A.n address delivered before the joint meeting of the Superintendents' 
and the School Boards' Sections of the Michigan State Teachers' Asso- 
ciation at Lansing, Michigan, April 23. 1915, and, by resolution, ordered 
printed and distributed to the schools of the state. 



— 4 — 

j\Iany reasons are advanced by the advocates of this change 
in defense of the propoganda, the most vital and significant of 
these being the following : 

First, the true function of elementary instruction is merely 
to supply the tools of culture, to lay the foundations of education 
and training, and to implant and engraft only those common 
elements of physical, mental and moral well-being which are 
universally accepted as necessary for the proper adjustment of 
everv' individual to his environment. These include (i) a fund 
of elemental stock information of a common character, (2) ele- 
mental and common ideals, drills, and habits that shall determine 
personal attitudes and responses, and (3) a school regimen that 
shall furnish a social medium for the development of appropriate 
social forms and reactions. The opinion here voiced is based 
upon analyses of the experiences of several European nations, 
upon experimental pedagogical investigations carried on in var- 
ious cities within our own country, and upon recent psychological 
and socialogical deductions which have been pretty positively 
established. The conviction therefore seems final that a shorten- 
ing of the eight-year undifferentiated common school course is 
practicable and wise. 

On the other hand (secondly) four years are altogether too 
short a period in which to give the differentiated instruction and 
training which in this century have become almost necessar)^ for 
all persons seeking to occupy other than the most menial and 
subordinate positions in business and society. Economic condi- 
tions have become so exacting, social relations have become so 
complex, and personal wants have so multiplied within the past 
quarter century that the old common-school education which fitted 
an individual fairly adequately to take his place in a developing 
community even a decade ago, now (at least for many persons) 
no longer suffices. Tn place of this a much more extended and 
diversified education is required and to meet this demand newer 
and newer subjects of study are being introduced into the cur- 
riculum. Nor is the limit of this tendency yet in view. 

In order to give opportunity, therefore, for exploring this 
wider range of subject-matter and in order to permit each indi- 
vidual to acquire a fair mastery of some one or more divisions 



of this enlarged field of study (once the dominant interests have 
been discovered), the demand has gradually become insistent that 
more time shall be provided for covering the work of the second- 
ary school. Six years seem now to be the irriducible minimum 
for the attainments of these ideals. 

In the third place it is becoming more and more clear to all 
educational investigators that the work of the seventh and eighth 
grades as at present organized is not only markedly unprogressive 
and unstimulating but also, to a large degree, valueless. Much of 
the time here is spent in threshing over old straw, — in reviewing 
courses already grown uninteresting because of vapid repetition. 
Much of the time, too, is devoted to the consideration of topics 
and problems that possess no significance for contemporary social 
life. In short, much of the school effort put forth here is ill- 
timed, ill-placed and ill-adapted to the ends sought. In conse- 
quence there is here an indefensible waste of purpose, waste of 
opportunity, waste of energy. There is, therefore, on the part 
of pupils a weakening of ambitions and of efforts, and hence an 
enfeeblement of accomplishment and stultification of powers. 
The net results, to many youths at least, are discouragement, dis- 
satisfaction, indifference to school work and, not infrequently, the 
abandonment of all attempts at further systematic education. Nor 
are the social effects of these individual lapses less detrimental. 
There is frequently an increase in aimlessness, inefficiency, cal- 
lousness and sullenness, culminating too often in bitterness of 
spirit, morbidity of mind, and criminality of purpose. The new 
school ideal, therefore, contemplates a rather sweeping transfor- 
ation of the content, discipline, processes and spirit of the two 
years which are at present employed so unprofitably. 

Finally, the six-six arrangement of school work harmonizes 
much more perfectly with the established facts of physiology, 
psychology and sociology, than the existing arrangement does. 
The age of twelve or thirteen marks the beginning of puberty 
and adolescence much more accurately than does the age of four- 
teen or fifteen. This period is characterized by marvelous changes 
in the physical, psychological and social life of all who pass 
through it. Perhaps, among these changes, the paramount one is 
the aspiration and craving for the ireev expression of personality 



— 6 — 

on the part of the adolescent youth. For him the unexplained 
edicts of authority no longer hold with binding" force. For him 
the circumscribed spheres of childish activity no longer suffice. 
Feeling the stirrings of the qualities of manhood, he claims for 
himself the exercise of the inalienable rights of adulthood, name- 
ly, individuality of judgment and an enlarged range of activities 
in which to exercise it. 

Hence it is that the school regime that fails to take account 
of these changes in character and interests which come upon 
young people at the beginning of adolescence must, in the nature 
of the case, fail to provide the training that is most suitable and 
valuable for them. When, therefore, a dififerentiated course of 
study is denied to pupils until they have reached the age of four- 
teen, fifteen, or sixteen years, a serious pedagogical blunder is 
committed. Hence it is that the new ideal of the six-six plan 
provides that the beginnings of secondary instruction and train- 
ing shall coincide with the true beginnings of the biological and 
psychological secondary stage of development. 

Numerous other reasons could be advanced in support of the 
plan for a reorganization of our public school system, but the 
ones adduced are basal and typify the prevailing attitude of 
mind of those who are leading the movement for reform. 

AgenciivS Supporting the Plan. ' 

That the movement possesses vitality and worth is attested 
by the fact that the following authorities, institutions, and agen- 
cies have (among others) put themselves on record as its sup- 
porters : 

University of Michigan. 

Michigan State Department of Education. 

North Central Association of Colleges and Secondaty 
Schools. 

National Association of State Universities. 

Committee on Economy of Time of the N. E. A. 

Sub-committees of the N. E. A. Commission on Reorganiza- 
tion of Secondarv Education. 



Superintendents'. Association of N. E. A. 
National Bureau of Education. 
Several State Teachers' Associations. 

Variations of thk Six-Six Pi.an. 

Up to date, doubtless, the chief emphasis of the reformers 
has been on the external form, or the external organization of 
the schools. Even here, however, there has been no approxima- 
tion to agreement. The six-six plan, the six-three-three plan, the 
six-two-four plan, the six-one-five plan, all have staunch support- 
ers. Indeed for many, the external form of the organization is 
the most essential factor in the entire problem. For example, 
Superintendent M. C. James of Berkley. California writes : "The 
strong argument for the intermediate school lies outside the cur- 
riculum," and he pleads for the complete segregation of the 7th, 
8th and 9th grades in a building entirely' separate and away from 
other school buildings, and a school spirit and procedure that 
are distinctive. 

On the other hand Gary, Indiana, boasts that all txvelve 
grades are organized as a unit. Not only is there no attempt at 
the segregation of pupils, but by means of inter-connecting cor- 
ridors and the arrangement of school activities, pupils of all 
grades are constantly and purposely brought into intimate con- 
tact with each other throughout a goodly portion of each day. 

In Columbus,, Ohio, the ideal is secured through the modi- 
fication of the organization, content, and methods in certain 
selected elementary schools, the remainder of the seventh and 
eighth grade work continuing unchanged. 

In numerous other places in which changes are being intro- 
duced, the leading motives and explanations of the modifications 
in school arrangements and practices are as frequently matters 
of local convenience, temporary expediency, and practical econ- 
omy as they are of pedagogical and psychological purpose. Never- 
theless, the various undertakings all lead to the same end. namely, 
a conscious reshaping of the school organization throughout the 
land. Moreover, while the external form of the schools is ac- 
knowledged to be a matter of importance, it is daily becoming 



— 8 — 

clearer that, after all, the organization is solely a means to an 
end, and that the most essential factor in the current problem 
relates to the subject-matter to be taught, and to the order and 
administration of this material. 

Attitude op Michigan Schoolmen. 

In keeping with the newer educational theories and experi- 
ments there is in Michigan today rather wide-spread enthusiasm 
for the reorganization of the schools on the six-six plan. In most 
instances, indeed, the complete outline makes provision for the 
six-three-three arrangement. Moreover, the wave of reform 
seems tO' be rapidly spreading. Nevertheless, (judging from let- 
ters received from, and conversations held with, the various 
schoolmen of the state), few, if any, have as yet formulated any 
very positive or definite idea as to just what changes are to be 
wrought or just what modes of procedure are to h^e adopted in 
order to bring about the realization of the true six-six ideal. 
With the majority of them, there is vagueness, uncertainty, and 
hesitancy, albeit an attitude of expectant waiting. 

In view of these facts, it seems fitting and proper to present 
herewith certain concrete illustrations of the internal changes that 
are being contemplated or are actually being put into operation 
in various parts of the country, and to deduce therefrom some 
leading administrative principles that may serve as guides for 
those interested in the project. 

What the Plan is Not. 

First, however, it ought to be made clear that the true six- 
six plan is not established or even approximated by merely adopt- 
ing any one of the following changes by itself, namely : 

1. Transferring the seventh and eighth grades from the 
ward buildings to the high school building. 

2. Departmentalizing the work of the seventh and eighth 
grades. 

3. Having the seventh and eighth grade classes taught by 
the high school teachers. 



— 9 — 

4- Segregating the pupils of the seventh, eighth and ninth 
grades by themselves. 

5. Promotion by subject within the seventh and eighth 
grades. 

ESSENTIAI, Erj'3IRNTS OF THE PlAN. 

The essential and indispensible factors in organizing a school 
on the six-six plan are decidedly more comprehensive than these, 
though in its completed form the items mentioned above may be 
included in the scheme. On the other hand the sine qua non of 
the reform idea certainly does involve and include the following: 

1. A rather complete reorganization of the subject-matter 
to be taught, particularly within the seventh and eighth grades. 

2. Provision for differentiated curricula beginning with the 
seventh grade. 

3. Provision for some individual freedom of election of 
courses on the part of pupils as early as the seventh grade. 

4. Departmental teaching beginning with the seventh grade. 

5. Promotion by subject. 

The matter, therefore, which calls for the first consideration 
in planning to organize a school on the six-six basis, pertains to 
the program of studies. Before any positive steps at organiza- 
tion can be taken, the following questions must be asked and, at 
least tentatively, answered : 

1. What subjects, if any, which are at present traditionally 
found in the school system, shall be omitted? 

2. What reduction of the time allotment, if any, shall be 
made respecting the traditional subjects that are still to be retain- 
ed in the curriculum? 

3. What transposition of subjects is to be made, if any, 
from traditional positions in the curriculum to other positions? 

4. Which of the newer subjects that are clamoring for rec- 
ognition in the curriculum shall be admitted, and what assignment 
of place and allotment of time shall be given them? 

5. What subjects, if any, shall be prescribed for all pupils 
or for given curricula? 



i 



— 10 — 

The topic for today's discussion centers in these questions. 
Needless to state, however, that no unequivocal answer can be 
given to any of them. The following considerations are, there- 
fore, offered merely as provisional attempts to solve the problems, 
and to serve as bases for constructive criticisms and as points of 
departure for others in the future. 

The Lower Six and the Upper Three Gr.xdes. 

Possibly the program of studies usually found in the first six 
grades of our public school system today needs no general revi- 
sion, and should, as at present, be kept uniform for all pupils. As 
previously stated, the chief function of this division of our school 
system is to lay the common foundations for active participation 
in the life of a democracy. Here, therefore, the common elements 
of an education call for emphasis. Here doubtless any consider- 
able degree of differentiation in schooling would be out of place 
and hazardous to the ideals of democratic society. Six years, 
however, ought to be sufficient to give this mere formal training 
in the school arts, and there is much evidence today which tends 
to show that six years are adequate for the task. 

The program of studies of the last three years of the high 
school must in the nature of the case depend to a large degree 
upon the character of the community in Mdiich the school is 
located, — the homogeneity of the citizens, and their resources, 
ambitions and needs. Hence only after a careful school survey 
is made of such particularized places can one wisely advise re- 
specting the changes that should be made in the proposed cur- 
ricula and in character of their administration. 

The Crux oe the Problem and the Undereying Principles. 

The real crux of the six-six problem, therefore, and the 
real point of this discussion today, is to be found in the program 
of studies and in the organization and administration of the 
seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, the grades which collectively 
are not infrequently styled the Junior High School or the Inter- 
mediate School. 



— II 



In formulatino- a program of studies for this school two 
g-uiding educational principles need to be kept constantly in mind. 
First, the period of early adolescence is a period of exploration 
and of self -discovery. Young people at this age are prone to 
dream dreams and inclined to see visions. Varied and unstable 
ideals completely fill their horizon. But the power of persistent 
efifort toward the attainment of the ideal goals is usually far from 
commensurate with the strength of the impelling desire. In con- 
sequence, the period is preeminently a period for developing the 
power of appreciation of forms and not to any considerable 
degree a time for attaining a mastery of principles. Indeed, as 
Dr. Hall has so emphatically stated it, adolescents are temper- 
amentally unable to carry thoughts through to their complete 
and final analysis. They are capable only of "touching the high 
spots" in the series. Hence it follows that the early years of 
adolescence should be years of self-testing and self-discovery, 
and the Junor High School a testing-place and a testing-ground, 
wherein opportunities are provided for "browsing around" and 
for disclosing permanent aptitudes and interests. 

Second, once these dominant talents have been revealed, per- 
fection of character and attainment can be gained only through 
a systematic and continuous exercise of them. Hence it follows 
that guarantees for a continuity of eflort must be given if the 
most desirable ends are to be effected. 

The delicate balancing, therefore, of these two opposing 
forces, namely, freedom of choice and continuity of efifort, con- 
stitutes th^e fundamental administrative problem that confronts 
the superintendent and principal. 

In the accompanying charts and graphs the efifort has been 
made to show concretely the manner in which some authorities 
are seeking to solve this problem. 



— 12 — 



PLATE I. 



COURSE OF STUDY— INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS. 

Berkeley Public School Department. 

Sevp:nth, Eighth and Ninth Grades. 



SEVENTH GRADE 


Pds. 


EIGHTH GRADE 


Pds. 


NINTH GRADE 


Pds. 


Required 


S 


Required 


5 


Required 




English 
Language 
Composition 
Spelling 
Reading 
Literature 


English 
Language 
Composition 
Spelling 
Reading 
Literature 


English 
Language 
Composition 
Spelling 
Reading 
Literature 


S 


Geography and World 
History thru Biog- 
raphy. 


5 


American History and 
Citizenship 


S 






The Arithmetic of 
Measurements 


5 


The Arithmetic of the 
Household and of 
Trade 


S 






Cooking or Manual 


2 


Sewing or Manual 


2 






Training 




Training 








Freehand Drawing 


2 


Freehand Drawing 


2 






*Music and Chorus 


2 


*Music and Chorus 


2 


*Music and Chorus 


2 



Optional 


5 


Optional 


5 


Elective 




French — beginning 


French — continued 


French — begin, or con. 


5 


German — beginning 


S 


German — continued 


5 


German — -begin. -con. 


5 


Latin — beginning 


S 


Latin — continued 


S 


Latin — begin. -con. 


5 


Spanish — beginning 


5 


Spanish — continued 


5 


Spanish — begin. -con. 


S 


Printing Arts 


5 


Printing Arts 


S 


Algebra 


s 


Extra English 


5 


Extra English 


5 


Freehand Drawing 
Elem. Household Sc. 
Elem. Household Arts 
Manual Arts 
Printing Arts 
Pacific Coast History 


s 
s 
s 
s 
s 

5 



* The eighty minutes of the music course are divided into two twenty-minute 
recitation periods and one thirty minute chorus period. 



— 13 — 

The Berkeley Plan. 

Plate I gives the course of study (program of studies) of 
Berkeley, California, Intermediate Schools. This city was one 
of the first- to undertake the reorganization of the school system 
on the six-six basis, and its program of studies has doubtless 
served as a suggestive guide for others to a greater extent than 
has the program of any other one school. Within this program 
the following items ought particularly to be noted : 

1. Provision is made for optional subjects in both the 
seventh and eight grad,es, and for many electve subjects in the 
ninth grade.^ 

2. There is little departure from the old five-period-per- 
week arrangement of recitation hours. 

3. Under the caption English are merged all phases of 
work that can appropriately be combined under the term, — a very 
wise plan, it appears, since the arrangement accustoms pupils to 
the nomenclature of the high school and at the same time tends 
to impress upon them the fact that a relatively small number of 
subjects pursued in the secondary school calls for no less effort 
on their part than did the pursuit of the large number of subjects 
they were accustomed to carry in the elementary school. For 
many a boy entering the high school at present the abrupt diminu- 
tion of studies from a dozen or eighteen to four seems an invita- 
tion to loaf on the job. 

4. There is a close correlation of History and Geography, — 
the only pedagogically justifiable manner of teaching either of 
the subjects. 



' Perhaps one of the very earliest attempts at the establishment of a 
six year high school was mad'e by Superintendent (now Professor) A. S. 
Whitney at Saginaw, 'Michigan, in 1899. The undertaking, however, was 
not permanent. 

^ By the expression "optional subject" is usually meant the choice of 
one subject only from a group of subjects; by "elective subject" is meant 
a range of choice that may include more than one subject. 



— 14 — 

5- Emphasis is placed on biography as the core of historical 
study in the seventh grade, and JVorld History takes the place of 
the course in United States history usually found in this grade, 
— ^tvvo most excellent provisions, since early adolescence is the 
age of hero worship, the age when human beings attract the 
youth vastly more than do the topics of a political and govern- 
mental character, and since, too, scores of youths who do not 
acquire an elemental knowledge of AVorld History at this period 
of their school life will never have an opportunity for doing so 
at all. 

6. The retention of a couise in American History and 
Citizenship in the eighth grade, supplemented by an elective 
course in Pacific Coast History (in place of Ancient History), in 
the ninth grade*, — an arrangement with which the writer finds 
himself in thorough accord. For few boys or girls has Ancient 
History, as at present organized and taught, any great amount 
of stimulation or abiding interest. This is particularly trU|e of 
those youths (attending schools in our rural and quasi-rural com- 
munities), whose life experiences have not enabled them to par- 
ticipate to any considerable extent in social relations, and who 
have had little opportunity to begin to develop an historical taste. 
For them the true approach to historical studies is through the 
less remote and the more vital and concrete elements of human 
activity. 

y. The courses in IMathematics emphasize the concrete and 
practical elements, and minimize the abstract and formal phases.^ 



* The aim of the three years' course in History is stated as securing 
for the pupil. "First: A fair understanding of the development of the 
civilization in which he lives, a realization of the cost of our present civil 
liberty and of the fact that our forefathers were making our history be- 
fore the New World was discovered. Second: A minimum of the facts 
of United States History. Third: A considerable knowledge of the his- 
tory, government and problems of his immediate environment and a desire 
to meet them in a broad-minded way and cheerfully to contribute what 
he can to the solution of difficult problems." 

^ An analysis of the course of study shows that each day's work in 
arithmetic involves three aspects, namely: i, Mental Review "a few mom- 



— 15 — 

8. Requiring manual training (or cooking and sewing), 
Freehand Drawing, and ^N.Iusic of all pupils in the seventh and 
eighth grades, — another wise requirement. 

9. Giving opportunity to begin an Ancient or a Modern 
Foreign Language as early as the seventh grade, — the only ap- 
propriate time in which to begin the study. 

10. Opportunity to take up Printing Arts as early as the 
seventh grade. 

11. Making English the only required subject in the ninth 
grade, and permitting supervised elections of all other branches, 
thus even relegating Algebra to the list of elective subjects. 

12. Permitting Foreign Languages to be begun (or con- 
tinued) in the ninth grade. 

In short the entire program is r.eplete with interesting modi- 
fications of the older order of things. 

PLATE IL 



Outline of Course of Study in the Grand Rapids. Michigan, 
Junior High Schools.'^ 



7 — I Grade 

English 5 

Arithmetic 5 

Geography 4 

Reading i 

Bench Work 3 

Dom. Science 3 

Dom. Art i 

Printing i 

Music I 

Art I 



8 — I Grade 

English 5 

Arithmetic 5 

American History 4 

Reading i 

Shop Work 3 

Dom. Science 3 

Dom. Art i 

Printing i 

Music I 

Art I 



9 — I Grade 

English 5 

Algebra 5 

Ancient History 5 

Latin 5 

German 5 

Pen. and Spelling 5 

Physical Geography 5 

Bookkeeping 5 

Draw, and Shop 5 

Freehand Drawing 2}/^ 

Domestic Art 5 

Physical Training i 



eiits daily" spent in emphasizing "rapidity and accuracy in handling easy 
numbers." 2, Essentials, few in number and mastered thoroughly by the 
class, and 3, Application, under the following typical forms: (a) House- 
hold expense account; (b) Grocery bills using aliquot parts; (c) Gas and 
Electric meters and bills; (d) Reduction sales from stores and advertise- 
ments; (e) Buying and selling Real Estate; (f) Promissory notes; (g) 
Checking accounts; (h) Local Problems, etc. 

'' This course of study in 7th and 8th grades is offered only in those 
schools that have departmental organization of those grades. 



— 16 — 

Elective and Special Elective and Special 

Business Arith 5 Eatin 5 

Applied English S German 5 

Latin 5 Mech. Drawing 3 

Mech. Drawing 2 Business Arith 5 

German 5 Applied English s 

Chorus or Orchestra.... 2 Chorus or Orchestra.... 2 

Printing 5 to 25 

Dom. Art is to 10 

Art s to ID 

Metal Working 2 

Elementary Science.... 2 

The Grand Rapids Plan. 

Plate II gives the course of study as it is today in operation 
in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, Junior High School. The fol- 
lowing items call for special consideration. 

1. The principle of election is introduqed as early as the 
seventh grade. 

2. There is an abandonment of the uniform five period per 
week class schedule. 

3. Each pupil carries twenty-one periods of prescribed 
work, and additional elective studies. 

4. Domestic Science and Art for girls, and Manual Train- 
ing and Printing for boys are prescribed subjects. 

5. Arithm.^tic and algebra continue to occupy their tradi- 
tional places. 

6. Business Arithmetic and applied English are given recog- 
nition from the seventh grade. 

7. American History is accorded three terms' work, where- 
as, in the ninth grade, Ancient History continues as the only 
course in social science open to pupils in that grade. 

8. Foreign language study is permitted in the seventh and 
eighth grades. 

Thus it is seen that in some respects the Grand Rapids plan 
is more conservative than the Berkeley plan, but in other respects 
it is more radical. 



— 17 



PLATE III. 

INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS. 
Jackson, Michigan. 

Outline Suggested Organization and Course of Study. 

Grade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 

Required Required Required 

English S English 5 English 5 

Arithmetic 5 Arithmetic s General Mathematics or 

Commercial Arith 3 

Geog. 7B, U. S. His- U. S. History 3 Civics 2 

tory 7A 3 Physical Training 2 Physical Training 2 

Physical Training 2 

Woodworking or Cook- 
ing and Serving 2 

Special Special Special 



Select 6 to 10 units 



Select 8 to 14 units 



Select 12 to 20 units 



Spelling* I Physiology 2 Oral English 2 

Penmanship* i 

Drawing 2 Drawing 2 Drawing 2 

Music 1 Music I Music i 



German S German 5 German 

Latin 5 Latin 5 Latin . 



Printing 3 Workshop, Mech. Draw. 5 Workshop, Mech. Draw. S 

Printing, Bookbinding. . S 

Sewing 3 Dom. Science and Arts. 5 Sewing, Millinery 5 

Household Management 2 

Bookkeeping 5 Typewriting 5 Bookpg. Office Practice. S 

Stenography, Typewrit.. 5 

General Science 3 Elementary Agriculture. 3 Agricultural Botany.... s 

Gardening 2 Poultry Raising 2 Ornamental Planting... 2 



Required units... 17 Required units... 15 Required units... 12 

Selected units.... 6 to 10 Selected units.... 8 to 14 Selected units.... 12 to 20 



Total 23 to 27 Total 23 to 29 Total . . 

Summary : Required units, 44 ; selected, 26 to 33 ; total, 70 to 88. 
* Spelling and penmanship required of all pupils until proficient. 



.24 to 32 



— i8^ 

TiTE Jackson Plan. 

Plate III gives the program of studies as tentatively drawn 
up by Superintendent Marsh for the Intermediate Schools of 
Jackson, Michigan. The unique features of this program are: 

1. The broad scope or range of offerings presented. 

2. The degree of flexibility of administration that is pro- 
vided. 

3. The unusually large number of weekly recitation per- 
iods (23 to 32) permitted to pupils. 

4. The granting of credit for "Special \A^ork," meaning 
thereby "special instruction out of school during th,e school term 
in vocal music, piano, violin, drawing or painting." 

5. The introduction of a course in General Science in the 
seventh grade. 

6. The prescription of two periods in Physical Training 
each year. 

7. The introduction for Commercial Work as early as the 
seventh grade. 

8. The introduction of Elementary Agriculture and Poultry 
Raising in the eighth grade — a particularly interesting innovation 
considering the fact that Jackson is a city of more than 30,000 
population and draws few pupils into the seventh grade from 
the country districts. 

In general this proposed program has the writer's hearty 
approval. 



— 19 — 



PLATE IV. 



MICHIGAN STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 



Suggested Courses of Study for Michigan 
High Schools. 



Literary- 
Required 

English 5 

Arithmetic 4 

U. S. History ... 2 

Physiology 2 

Geography 4 

Music 3 

Drawing 2 

Elective 
Manual Training 2 

Agriculture i 

Bookkeeping .... 2 
Penmanship .... 2 

Required 

English 5 

Arithmetic 4 

U. S. History- 
Civics 5 

Grammar 4 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Elective 
Manual Training 2 

Agriculture i 

Bookkeeping .... i 
Penmanship .... 2 

Required 

English 5 

Algebra s 

Elective 

Latin 5 

Ancient History. 5 
Botany & Zoology 

or Physiography 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



Agricultural Household Arts 

GRADE 7 

Required 

English 5 

Arithmetic 4 

l.''. S. History. . . 2 



Physiology 2 

Geography 4 

Music 3 

Drawing 2 

Agriculture i 

Manual Training 2 



Required 

English 5 

Arithmetic 4 

History 2 

Physiology 2 

Geography 4 

Music 3 

Drawing 2 

Sewing 2 

Elective 

Bookkeeping .... i 

Agriculture i 



GRADE 8 



Required 

English 5 

Arithmetic 4 

U. S. History- 
Civics s 

Grammar 4 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Agriculture i 

^Manual Training 2 



Required 

English s 

Arithmetic 4 

IT. S. History- 
Civics s 

Grammar 4 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Cooking 2 

Elective 

Bookkeeping .... i 

Agriculture i 



GRADE 9 



Required 

English 5 

Algebra 5 

Botany & Zoology 
or Physiography 5 

Elective 

Ancient History. 5 

Arithmetic 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



Required 

English •. . 5 

Sewing 5 

Elective 

Ancient History. 5 
Botany & Zoology 

or Physiography 5 

Arithmetic s 

Algebra 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



Commercial 

Required 

English S 

.Vrithmetic 4 

History 2 

Physiology 2 

Geography 4 

Music 3 

Drawing 2 

Agriculture 1 

Elective 

Penmanship .... 2 

Manual Training 2 



Required 

English s 

Arithmetic 4 

U. S. History — ■ 

Civics 5 

Grammar 4 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Bookkeeping .... i 

Elective 
Penmanship .... 2 
Manual Training 2 



Required 

English s 

Arithmetic 5 

Writing & Spell. 5 

Elective 
Ancient History. 5 
Botany & Zoology 
or Physiography 5 

Algebra ■ 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



— 20 — 



Required 

Knglish S 

Geometry 5 

Elective 

Latin 5 

Modern History. 5 
Commercial Geog. 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Required 

English 5 

Advanced Algebra 
& Solid Geom. 5 

Elective 

Latin 5 

German 5 

Chemistry S 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Required 

U. S. History- 
Civics 5 

Elective 

Latin 5 

German S 

Physics 5 

English Liter. . . . S 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



Required 

English S 

Geometry S 

Agriculture 5 

Elective 
Bookkeeping .... s 
Modern History. 5 
Commercial Geog. s 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



GRADE 10 



Required 

English 5 

Sewing 5 

Elective 

Modern History. 5 

Bookkeeping .... 5 

Geometry 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



GRADE II 



Required 

English S 

Agriculture S 

Chemistry 5 

Elective 
Advanced Algebra 
& Solid Geom. 5 

German S 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



Required 

English 5 

Cooking 5 

Chemistry S 

Elective 
Advanced Algebra 

& Solid Geom. s 

German s 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



GRADE 12 



Required 

U. S. History- 
Civics 5 

Agriculture 5 

Physics 5 

Elective 

German 5 

English Liter.. . . 5 

Music 2 



Required 

U. S. History- 
Civics 5 

Cooking 5 

Elective 

Physics 5 

German 5 

English Liter.. . . s 

Music 2 



Drawing 2 Drawing 2 



Required 

English s 

Bookkeeping .... 5 
Commercial Geog. 5 

Elective 

Modern History, s 

Geometry 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Required 

English 5 

Stenography .... 5 

Elective 
Advanced Algebra 

& Solid Geom. 5 

Chemistry 5 

German s 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Required 

U. S. History- 
Civics s 

Stenography .... s 
Commercial Law 
& Bus. Prac. . . 5 

Elective 

Physics S 

German S 

English 5 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 



The State Department Plan. 

Plate IV gives the Program of Studies by the State Depart- 
ment of Education of Michigan for the high schools of the State. 
The observations and criticisms which may be directed to this 
proposed scheme are as follows : 

I. The plan is presented in the form of four parallel cur- 
ricula designed to aid young people in shaping their entire 
courses at the v,ery outset, — a very commendable and desirable 
plan. 



— 21 

2. Analysis shows that there is really little difference in the 
organization of these curricula, and raises the thought that they 
do not constitute the true guides to pupils that they are capable 
of being. Moreover no one of the curricula quite corresponds 
in fact to the title accorded it. Thus, no foreign language study 
is provided in the Literary Curriculum below the ninth grade ; 
the Agriculture Curriculum offers but two recitation periods in 
Agriculture, as such, below the tenth grade ; and the Commercial 
Curriculum provides but a single hour of strictly commercial 
work below the tenth grade. 

3. English grammar holds its traditional and conspicuous 
place throughout all the curricula, and Algebra stands forth 
as a prescribed subject in the ninth grade of both the Literar}-- 
and Agricultural curricula. 

4. There is little real departure from the five period-per- 
week schedule, save in the newQr subjects. 



— 22 — 

PLATE V. 

HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT IN VARIOUS 
SUBJECTS 




The diagram shows percentage of total high-school enroll- 
ment in U. S. taking courses in mathematics — x — ; foreign 

languages — o — ; science — ; classics ---; history -, and 

Engish o o o. Data from tabulation, page 1,141, Report U. S. 
Commissioner of Education, 1910. i mm. ^^ 1.2 percent. 

Latin and History in the New Pean. 

Plate V is a diagram showing the percentage of total high 
school enrollment in the United States taking- courses in various 
subjects. The interesting points in the graph are the relatively 
poor showing made by Latin and History. If one accepts the 



— 23 — 

premise that these subjects are educationally of high value, the 
conclusion seems unavoidable that some steps should be taken to 
give them greater prominence in the schools. The complete re- 
organization of thj(e courses in History appears to be the treat- 
ment necessary to strengthen and popularize that subject, center- 
ing the emphasis (during the Junior High School years), in 
biography, world events of a strikingly spectacular nature, local 
and recent history, local government, and current topics. The 
salvation of Latin as a school study likewise appears to be depen- 
dent upon the simplification and vitalization of the course and 
the introduction of the work at an earlier stage of a pupil's 
schooling, — at a time when rote memory is strong and when 
interest in unfamiliar words and forms is keen. The six-six 
organization of schools lends itself easily, as has already been 
seen, to the reform of the work in both these important subjects 
of study. 

CHART VI. 

FRANKFORT, GERMANY, GYMNASIAL PROGRAM.^ 

Years i 2 

Religion 3 2 

German 5 4 

Latin 

Greek 

French 6 6 

History & Geography 2 2 

Mathematics 5 5 

Natural History 2 3 

Physics 

Writing 2 2 

Drawing 2 

Singing 2 2 

Gymnastics 3 3 

Total 30 31 



3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


Total 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


19 


4 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


31 




10 


10 


8 


8 


8 


8 


52 








7 


8 


8 


8 


31 


6 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


31 


6 


3 


4 


2 


2 


2 


3 


26 


5 


4 


4 


3 


3 


3 


3 


35 


3 


2 


2 










12 








2 


2 


2 


- 


8 

4 


2 


- 


2 










8 

4 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


27 


31 


32 


32 


33 


33 


33 


33 


288 



^ Figures indicate the number of recitation periods per week, per year. 

The Reformed Gymnasial, Pean oe Germany. 

Chart VI represents the Program of Studies in the so-called 
Reform School or the Frankfort type of gymnasial school in 



— 24 — 

Germany. The program of the Saxony Reform School is very 
similar. Together these two types of Secondary Schools are 
advancing in prestige in Germany very rapidly. 

The chart has been introduced here for the sake of showing 
how familiar to Germany are many of the principles and admin- 
istrative arrangements that are today in America being advocated 
for the six-year high school. The following points are especial- 
ly to be noted : 

1. The secondary school course is nine years in length. 

2. Pupils enter the school usually at the ages of nine or ten 
years. 

3. The vernacular language is studied through each year 
of the course. 

4. Modern foreign languages are begun before ancient lan- 
guages and are pursued for a period of nine years. 

5. Latin is begun in the fourth school year, at a time when 
the pupil is about twelve years of age. 

6. History and Geography are closely correlated. 

7. Mathematics, pursued each year of the course, is not 
rigidly differentiated, but combines Arithmetic, Algebra, and 
Geometry in appropriate proportions. 

8. Gymnastics are prescribed for all during each year of 
the course. 

9. Physics extends over four years ; natural history over 
five. 

10. Uniformity in the allotment of weekly class-periods is 
unknown. 

11. Continuity of effort is everywhere encouraged and 
demanded. 

12. The number of weekly class-periods per pupil is large. 

13. The total number of year-hours required for graduation 
is large (288), and if reduced to semestral-hours is still more 
impressive (576). 

Surely with schools of this type illustrating the operation 
of desirable educational principles and practices for decades, 
there is ample precedent for the establishment of similar reform 
schools in America. 



— 25 — 

CHART VII. 

THE vSCHEME OF THE FRENCH LYCfiES. 

First Cycle. Second Cycle. ' 

Year: 1234 5 6 7 

A. Classical Course. A. Latin-Greek Course. Philosophy. 

B. Latin-Modern Language 

Course. 

C. Latin-Science Course. 

B. Scientific Course D. Science-Modern Language JMathematics. 

Course. 

Flexibility in the French Schools. 

Chart Yll shows the attitude of the French nation towards 
the question of early differentiation of courses. As in Germany, 
pupils enter the secondary school (the Lycee being the leading 
type), at about the age of nine or ten. The course is seven years 
in length, and is divided into two cycles, — one of four years and 
one of three years. Each cycle aims to give a rounded well- 
balanced training, so that, if pupils find they must withdraw from 
school at the end of the first cycle, they will have acquired an 
education that is imperfect only in the sense that it is incomplete. 
Moreover, differentiation of courses begins at the very outset of 
the school work, a pupil having a choice of either Latin or 
Science. At the end of the fourth year a second differentiation 
of courses occurs, and finally, in the last year, a year of special- 
ized study is provided. Thus France secures flexibility of school 
work through the organization of parallel courses or curricula 
within a given school, whereas Germany seeks the same end 
through the differentiation of schools as schools. The important 
point to be noted in both cases is that provision for a differentia- 
tion of work is made for pupils at about the age of nine or ten 
years. 



— 26 — 

CHART VIII. 
ANOTHER SUGGESTED PR0GRA:^I. 



English 5 

Math. (Ai-ith., Algebra, 

Geometry) 4 

World Hist. (Biog.)... 3 
World Geog. thru human 

activities and interests 4 

Physiology & Hygiene.. 2 

Man. Training (boys) . . 2 

Domestic Art (girls)... 2 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Assembly i 

Elective 

Latin 5 

German 5 

Agriculture & Hortic ... 3 

Man. Train, (additional) 3 

Dom. Art (additional).. 3 

Bookkeeping 2 

Penmanship 2 

Special (out-of-school- 

work) I to 5 



English 5 

U. S. History & Com- 
munity Civics 5 

Math. (Arith., Algebra, 

Geometry) 4 

Elementary Science 3 

Man. Training (boys).. 2 

Dom. Science (girls)... 2 

Vocational Knowledge. . i 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Assembly i 

Elective 

Agriculture &■ Hortic. . . s 

Latin 5 

German S 

Man. Train, (additional) 3 

Dom. Sc. (additional).. 3 

Stenography 3 

Penmanship i 

Trade 4 

Special (out-of-school- 

work) I to 5 



9 

English s 

Assembly i 

Elective 

Latin (Beg. or Cont.) 5 

German (Beg. or Cont.) S 

Biolog}^ 5 

European Hist, to 1750. 5 

Algebra 3 

Manual Training 5 

Household Arts 5 

Agriculture 5 

Shorthand 5 

Typewriting 5 

Business Forms 3 

Music 2 

Drawing 2 

Trade 5 

Special (out-of-school- 

work) I to s 



Chart \'lll represents a personal attempt to suggest a pro- 
gram that is adaptable to any typical community. It is not 
offered with the thought that it is necessarily superior to all 
others, but is presented for whatever it may be worth. 



Summary oe First vSteps. 

No attempt has been made in this paper to sketch the pos- 
sible organization of the program of studies for the Senior High 
School. In the nature of the case this must depend upon the 
ambitions, resources, and needs of each respective community. 
That some schools will endeavor to save to pupils an entire year 
in their course is already seen in the attitude, for example, of 
the University of Chicago High School and the East Chicago, 
Indiana, High School, both of which plan to issue diplomas of 
graduation on the completion of eleven years public school work. 



— 27 — 

On the other hand, the spirit of the six-six plan is not to 
reduce the period of schooHng- nearl}^ so much as it is to enrich 
and intensify the twelve years devoted to it. No doubt, under 
the flexible arrangement of the scheme many a bright pupil will 
be able to complete the prescribed course in less than twelve years. 
Such pupils should be encouraged to do so. In the same way, 
however, for such as can not readily and satisfactorily cover the 
ground in the normal time, provision should be made for a rate 
of progress that is suited to the ability. 

The first matters of consideration, therefore, in organizing 
a school on the six-three-three basis are (to reiterate) : 

1. A modification of the content or courses of study of the 
seventh, eighth, and ninth grades particularly. 

2. A modification of the uniform schedule of class-periods. 

3. Much flexibility of administration, secured primarily 
through: (a) minimum prescriptions of subjects; (b) election of 
other subjects under guidance. 

4. Suggestive curricula. 

Additional Administrative Problems. 

The adoption of the above mentioned changes is, however, 
far from meeting all the problems v^d^ich the six-six organization 
entails. The limits of this paper do not permit any extended dis- 
cussion of the many questions of administration which are in- 
separably entwined with the modifications of the program of 
studies. Briefly considered, however, the following items, more 
or less catagorically stated, must enter into the reorganization 
scheme of any well-planned reform which embodies the principles 
of the six-six arrangement. 

First, the departmental organization of the seventh and 
eighth grades. The advantages of this plan are so obvious to all 
and the custom is now so generally followed in schools of the 
first rank that nothing further need be said in support of the 
change. No teacher is fitted adequately to teach all subjects wnth 
equal efficiency ; no pupil but can profit from contact with more 
than one teaching personality. 



— 28 — 

Second, promotion by subject above the sixth grade. No 
course is more prohfic of discouragement for pupils than to be 
obliged to repeat an entire year's or semester's work in all sub- 
jects because, forsooth, the accomplishments in one subject of 
study fall short somewhat of the passing standard. Flexibility 
is the keynote of the six-six arrangement: adjustment to indi- 
vidual differences is the mark of twentieth century pedagogy. 
Whoever fails to promote pupils on their merits in each branch 
of study, irrespective of what their attainments have been in 
other branches, -Sti4 not yet caught the whisperings of modern 
educational thought and practice. 

Third, teachers in the Junior PTigh School grades as thor- 
oughly trained and as efificient as those in the Senior High School. 
Ultimately, yea, sp-^edily, this means teachers with college de- 
grees and professional training. It ought to mean, also, teachers 
of successful experience and with maturity of judgment. The 
task of introducing pupils for the first time to new lines of 
thought and responses calls for the highest possible skill. The 
young callow girl or boy, perfect it may be in the knowledge of 
the subject to be taught, but ignorant of the deeper meanings of 
life and life's relations, will serve the cause of education vastly 
better if put in charge of advanced courses than over beginners. 
From the typical young Ph.D., man in college and the typical 
young A.B. student in Junior High School may the supervising 
authorities forever deliver the freshman student. 

During the period of transition from the old system to the 
new insistence upon the employment of none but college-bred 
teachers would, however, be as unjust as it would be futile and 
impracticable. Old and faithful teachers may not be made to 
suffer nor be unceremoniously eliminated from the system. Time 
and opportunity for readjustments must be permitted. For those 
teachers in the seventh and eighth grades who are by tempera- 
ment unfitted for departmental work, transfers of positions must 
be made. For others, the assignment of such courses as they are 
amply fitted to teach effectively must be made. For all, con- 
tinued growth in services must be demanded. Hence leave of 
absence for such as seek it in order to fit themselves the better 



— 29 — 

for the new work should h'^ cheerfully granted by Boards of 
Education. Encouragement should be given ■ to attendance on 
Summer Sessions of Colleges, and local study clubs should be 
fostered. In the meantime all work of the seventh and eighth 
grades should be brought under the direct supervision of the 
high school principal and the heads of the various departments. 
In these ways, and in these ways only, can the work of the re- 
organized school be properly strengthened and made to meet the 
expectations of the propogandists of the new movement. 

Fourth, a new mode of determining and recording school 
credits. With the abandonment of the old iive-period-per-week 
class schedule the present mode of granting one school credit for 
each semester's work in a given subject becomes disjointed, if 
not entirely unusable. To be sure in place of the sixteen units, 
or thirty-two credits, now usually required for graduation, eight 
additional units, or sixteen additional credits, may be prescribed, 
thus making the standard for the six years twenty-four units, or 
forty-eight credits. By adopting with this plan the custom of 
using fractional units of measurement, the scheme has few objec- 
tions and is workable. Thus, for illustration, a subject pursued 
three times per week would be given three-fifths (3/5), or six- 
tenths (.6) of a unit credit; one meeting four times per week, 
four-fifths (4/5) or eight-tenths (.8) of a unit cr.edit. 

A much more convenient and satisfactory method of solv- 
ing the problem is by the adoption of the college custom of 
estimating all credit in semester hours. Sixteen units, the present 
common requirement for high school graduation, comprise 80 
year-hours (four subjects, five periods per week for four years) 
or 160 semester-hours (four subjects, five periods per week for 
four years of two semesters each). Hence by adding two years 
to the high school course the resulting proportionate amount of 
credit added is fifty percent. In consequence a standard for 
graduation of 120 year-hours, or, preferably, 240 semester-hours 
is highly to be recommended. 

Fifth, abolition of the eighth grade graduation exercises. 
One of the chief alleged advantages of the six-three-three plan 
is that it will tend to retain more pupils in school for longer 



— 30 — 

periods. To hold elaborate exercises at the end of the eighth (or 
ninth) grade is but to suggest that a stopping place has been 
reached and to invite pupils to discontinue their schooling at that 
point. 

SLvth, modification of the terms of articulation of the sec- 
ondary school with college and university. The University of 
Michigan has already anticipated the issue and has recently, by 
vote of the Literary Faculty and the R-egents, passed the follow- 
ing resolutions, namely : 

"I. That school authorities be encouraged to incorporate the 
seventh and eighth grades of the elementary school as' an integral 
part of the high school, forming a six-year system. 

2. That school authorities be recommended to organize the 
six-year high school system into a Junior High School of three 
years and a Senior High School of three years as soon as local 
conditions will admit. 

3. That graduates of six-year high school courses be re- 
c[uired to gain during th last three years at least eight of the 
fifteen units required for admission, two of which units shall be 
obtained during the senior year. 

4. That graduates of six-year high school courses be per- 
mitted to apply for university credit on examination." 

Since, in accordance with these resolutions, seven of the 
fifteen units required for admission may be gained below the 
tenth grade, and since, further, four units are ordinarily gained 
at present in the ninth grade, it means that the University of 
Michigan has agreed to accept for admission three units gained 
in the seventh and eighth grades. In as much, further, as a unit 
as defined by colleges ordinarily signifies a subject to which has 
been devoted not fewer than 7,200 recitation-minutes, either of 
two administrative changes must be made in the work of the 
seventh and eighth grades, namely: (a) Increasing the length 
of class periods to the customary high school requirpment of 
forty minutes in the clear; or (b) granting less than full credit 
for a course successfully pursued in these two grades. Possibly 
allowing half credit here would be the safest and wisest arrange- 
ment. 



— 31 — 

The University of Chicago, on its part, has adopted a slight- 
ly different mode of adjusting credits gained in the six-year sys- 
tem. The plan here is not to go back of the face returns, but 
to accept for college admission any work don.e in the Junior High 
School provided it has been accepted and tested by the authorities 
of the Senior High School. Hence the amount of credit to be 
allowed in any given case will be determined by the facts of the 
particular situation. Nominally there is no specified limit to the 
number of units to be thus gained ; actually the amount will not 
vary greatly from that accepted by the University of Michigan. 

Seventh, provision for supervised study. This change is not 
an essential innovation of the six-six arrangement. It, however, 
is a pedagogical principle of such value that it is being incorpor- 
ated in many schools in which the six-year high school is being 
established. Accompanying this change, and almost a necessar}' 
condition of it, is the idea of a longer recitation period. Full 
sixty-minute hours are the ideal, to be employed either entirely 
in discussions, assignments of lessons, and lectures, or else divid- 
ed into two parts, one part being devoted to the formal recitation 
and the other part to study under the immediate and individual 
supervision and direction of the class teacher. 

Bighth, provision for a longer school day. This change is 
inevitable, if provision for supervised study and longer class 
periods is adopted. The present trend seems to be toward an 
eight-period school-day, some of these periods to be used by 
pupils for laboratory and shop work, supervised recreation exer- 
cises, assembly or auditorium meetings, and other types of cjuasi- 
academic activity. 

Ninth, modification of methods of teaching. This problem 
is as yet not clear to any one. It merely raises the question as 
to whether or not present high school methods of teaching shall 
be adopted in toto for the seventh and eighth grades. Shall, for 
example, begnning Latin and beginning German be organized 
and presented in precisely the same manner in the seventh grade 
as they are now in the ninth grade? Or shall, for instance, the 
aim be only to give an elementary appreciation of the geography 
and history of the peoples concerned, the national traits, and a 



— 32 — 

rudamentary acquaintance with the sounds, forms, and vocabu- 
laries of the languages? Only experimentation can determine 
the wisest policy. 

Tenth, adjustment of the functions of the superintendent 
and the high school principal in reference to the seyenth and 
eighth grade work. No doubt there is in this question potential 
elements of friction. Nevertheless, if the same good common- 
sense is exercised here as in well-conducted school systems ' of 
the present order, adjustments will be made harmoniously and 
easily. Generosity of interest and cooperation of effort will 
eliminate all elements of a disturbing kind. 

Summary of thc Problems Involved. 

The essential factors, therefore, that enter into the establish- 
ment of the six-threc-three arrangement of the schools are, to 
summarize, the following: 

1. Reorganization of the subject-matter of the seventh, 
eighth and ninth grades. 

2. Departmental teaching. 

3. Promotion by subject. 

4. Abolition of the uniform five-])eriod-per-week class- 
schedules. 

5. College-bred and professionally-trained teachers in all 
gra'des above the sixth. 

6. Adoption of the "hour" plan of recording school 
credits. 

7. Longer class-periods with supervised study. 

8. Increased number of class periods in the school day. 

9. Experimentation in methods. 

10. Adjustment of the powers and duties of superintendent 
and principal in reference to the seventh and eighth grades. 

Summary oe Advantages Found. 

A summary of the advantages found by some of the admin- 
istrators of the six-three-three plan includes : 

I. "It holds more pupils to the ninth grade." (Kalama- 
zoo). 



— 33 — 

2. "Our pupils stay in school longer, attend more regular- 
ly, and show more interest in their work." (Detroit, Mc]\Iillan). 

3. "The costs range from 10% to too% higher than in 
the old type grammar school, but better results are secured." 
(Evansville). 

4. "The departmental plan secures better teaching and 
more interest in the general work of these (7th and cSth) grades." 
(Kalamazoo). 

5. "There is a financial saving in the equipping and main- 
taining of shops and laboratories." (Columbus). 

6. "Discipline is better." (Long Branch). 

7. "Our plan is keeping more pupils in school and we 
think doing something definite for them as a preparation for 
work." (Grand Rapids, Union). 

8. "The social experience of the pupils gained in the 
intermediate schools has be.en beneficial." (Berkeley). 

9. "There is less duplication of work in passing from 
grade to grade." (Madison, Ind.). 

10. "It provides a longer transition period from elemen- 
tary methods to secondary methods." (Berkeley). 

11. "The Junior High School aids a city in solving its 
problem of distance by bringing the school home to the pupil's 
own door." (Evansville). 

12. "The problem of discipline is much simpler. Pupils 
show more initiative, self-reliance, and sense of responsibility." 
(Evansville). 

The six-year high school seems, therefore, destined to be- 
come a permanent and universally accepted feature of our school 
system. For the convenience of those interested, there is here 
appended a list of eities and towns known to have established the 
six-year high school recently. 

Some Cities Th.\t Have Adopted the Six-Six Plan,^ or 
Some Form oe It. 

ARIZONA Los Angeles. 

Globe. Oakland. 

CALIFORNIA Palo Alto. 

Berkeley. Sacremento. 



^See also U. S. Com. Rept. 1914, pp. 148 ff. 



— 34 



CONNECTICUT 

Norwalk. 

South Norwalk. 
CO'LORADO 

Fruitvale. 
FLORIDA 

Tampa. 
IDAHO 

Idaho Falls. 

Lewiston. 

Coeur d'Alene. 
ILLINOIS 

Springfield. 

Quincy. 
INDIANA 

East Chicago. 

Evansville. 

Gary. 

Richmond. 

'Weymour. 

Greencastle. 

Tippecanoe Co. H. S. 
IOWA 

Clinton. 

Goldfield. 
KANSAS 

Neodesha. 

Channte. 

Topeka. 

Newton. ' 

'Meade. 

Kansas City. 
KENTUCKY 

Lexington. 

Louisville. 

Covington. 
MASSACHUSETTS 

Boston. 

Clinton. 
MICHIGAN 

Adrian. 

Grand Rapids. 



f McMillan. 

Detroit [- George Jr. 
[ Norvall. 

Muskegon. 

Kalamazoo. 
MINNESOTA 

Minneapolis. 

Duluth. 

Rochester. 

Fergus Falls. 

Faribault. 

Mankato. 
NEBRASKA 

Blair. 

Norfolk. 
NEW JERSEY 

Trenton. 
NEW YORK 

Long Branch. 

Troy. 

Rochester. 
NORTH DAKOTA 

Bismark. 

Grafton. 
OHIO 

Columbus. 
OREGON 

Portland. 

McMinnville. 
PENNSYLVANIA 

Chambersburg 
SOUTH DAKOTA 

Lead. 
TEXAS 

Flouston. 
UTAH 

Ogden. 
VIRGINIA 

Bristol. 
WASHINGTON 
Walla Walla. 



— 35 — 

ReFKRENCE^S for FURI'IIKR CONSUETATION. 

1. Whitney, F. P., Educ. Rev., Feb., 191 1. 

2. (Davis, C. O., Educ. Rev., Oct.. 191 1. 

3. Robinson, E. V., Sch. Rev., Dec, 1912. 

4. Wheeler, Geo., Sch. Rev., April, 1914. 

5. Bunker, F F., Educ. Rev., March, 1914. 

6. Boynton, E., Educ. Rev., February, 1914. 

7. Brown, H. E., Sch. Rev., May, 1914. 

8. Judd, C. H., Sch. Rev., January, 1915. 

Q. Johnston, C. H., .^dm. and Super., March, 1915. 

10. Inglis, A., Sch. Rev., May, 1915. 

11. Bulletin, No. 38 (1913). U. S. Bureau. 

12. Circular, Evansville. Indiana, High School. 

13. Report, Columbus, Ohio, 1912. 

14. Course of Study, Berkeley, Cal., 1914. 

15. Course of Study, Sacramento. Cal., 1914. 

16. Handbook, Richmond. Indiana, 1914. ' 

17. Handbook, Ellenville, N. Y., 1914. 

18. Circular, Eewiston, Idaho, 1914. 



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